Another potential issue for Saudi Arabia, regardless of which contractor it selects, is where to put any reactors it decides to build. A nuclear plant requires an abundant supply of cooling water, which Saudi Arabia does not have except on its coasts. The country’s most prominent geophysicist, Dr. Abdullah al-Amri of King Saud University, argued in a 2011 interview that neither coast is suitable–the Red Sea coast because it is potentially volcanic, the Gulf coast because it is sedimentary and unstable. Al-Amri said there are geologically suitable sites in the vast interior, but cooling water would have to be piped to them. He said the government does not want to do that because a pipeline supplying cooling water to an active nuclear reactor in the sparsely-populated interior would be an easy target for terrorists. Nevertheless, Saudi Arabia is committed–at least on paper–to constructing as many as 16 reactors by about 2040.

Newly published lobbying disclosures reveal that the Saudi Ministry of Energy, Industry and Mineral Resources hired Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman in the past few days to “advise” it on “a potential bilateral agreement with the United States concerning peaceful uses of nuclear energy.” The firm will also provide Riyadh with guidance on “related legal matters concerning the development of a commercial nuclear program.” The deal is for an initial term of approximately 30 days and billing comes to $890 per hour.

Perry scrapped a trip to New Delhi to accommodate meetings at the White House this week, creating an opening for him to lead an inter-agency delegation to London, said the people, who asked not to be named to discuss administration strategy. The administration is considering permitting Saudi Arabia to enrich and reprocess uranium as part of a deal that would allow Westinghouse Electric Co. and other American companies to build nuclear reactors in the Middle East kingdom. The meetings in London between Perry and Saudi Arabia’s Minister of Energy and Industry Khalid Bin Abdulaziz Al-Falih are seen as a critical step in months of ongoing discussions over a potential nuclear cooperation agreement, bringing together key deal makers from each country.

Energy Secretary Rick Perry prodded Saudi Arabia on Wednesday to sign a nuclear energy agreement with the U.S., warning the oil-rich kingdom that it risks missing out on an opportunity to show its commitment to using nuclear power responsibly. "If they don't, the message will be clear to the rest of the world that the kingdom is not as concerned about being leaders when it comes to nonproliferation in the Middle East," Perry said in testimony before the House Science, Space and Technology Committee. The Trump administration is considering allowing the Saudis to enrich and reprocess uranium as part of what’s known as a nuclear cooperation agreement, or a “123 agreement.” Saudi Arabia plans to construct 16 nuclear power reactors over the next 20 to 25 years at a cost of more than $80 billion, according to the World Nuclear Association, and the Trump administration wants the U.S. to have a piece. U.S. officials discussed a possible deal with Saudi Arabia's powerful Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman when he recently visited the White House.

The project will be reportedly funded fully by Saudi and UAE private investors and that Egyptian companies with expertise in digging would help with the construction of the canal. A Saudi military base will be established in the one kilometre separating the Salwa waterway from Qatar, while the remainder will be converted into a waste dump for the Saudi nuclear reactor, which Riyadh plans to build according to best practices and global environmental requirements.

So they dig a canal, walling them off from Qatar, and put the nuclear waste on the Qatar side...